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How To File a No-Contact Restraining Order

By Craig Bonnot

Darrin Klimek/Digital Vision/Getty Images

If you have been a victim of domestic violence, you can ask the court for a no-contact restraining order against your abuser. A no-contact restraining order prohibits your abuser from contacting you or visiting “specified locations, such as your home or workplace” according to gmdvp.org. To get a no-contact restraining order, you must first get a temporary restraining order lasting up to seven days. After this, you can ask the court for a final injunction. A final injunction is a no-contract restraining order lasting up to four years, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Go to your local courthouse. Ask where to go to file for a restraining order. Fill out the necessary forms with specific information about the abuse, including the date and time of every incident.

Take the forms to a judge. The judge will conduct a hearing and ask questions about the abuse and your overall safety. If you have any documentation regarding the abuse--like police reports or medical records--you should show these to the judge. If the judge believes the abuser is a threat to your safety, he will issue a temporary restraining order and set a date for the next hearing.

Bring to court any information you have regarding the abuser’s whereabouts. This includes things like the abusers home address, work address or family members’ addresses. A law enforcement agency will use this information to serve your abuser with the restraining order.

Go back to court and ask the judge to turn the temporary restraining order into a final injunction. According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the time of this hearing will be set at your original temporary restraining order hearing. At this time, you and your abuser will have the opportunity to testify. If the judge finds that abuse has occurred or may occur in the future, she will issue a final injunction.

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About the Author

Craig Bonnot has been writing for ten years. His work has appeared in the Fort Collins Coloradoan, bootsnall.com, ehow and travels.com. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. Bonnot studied journalism at Colorado State University.

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